Building a bond with your dog the right away is all about mutual respect and being consistent. While obedience training and learning tricks at their young age is a great way to help form a bond with your dog, here’s a few ideas that are needed on a regular day to day basis throughout their lives.
Turn Energy Into Something Productive
It’s no secret that you should be getting your dog plenty of exercise. If they start to act up, chew your furniture or belongings, and display random energy bursts inside the house, that’s a clear sign that they haven’t had enough exercise. The first thing you should consider is a consistent walking routine every day. Don’t just let them out to go to the bathroom, actually take some time to walk them around the neighborhood. This will allow them to stimulate their senses and get some needed exercise. When you have some more time to spend, take them to a dog park or open field and start teaching them how to play fetch the right way. You can get some obedience training in while exercising their little hearts.
Dog Grooming
Dog grooming is important because it’s a time for you to give them lots of praise and it keeps them healthy. At first, they may feel a little hesitant to be restrained and sit for long grooming sessions. Start out with shorter brushing sessions to get them used to it. As they become more calm with you, you can move on to more of the challenging tasks like clipping their nails, giving them a bath, or using electric grooming clippers for those tougher coats. These types of activities will teach them to trust you (as long as you stay patient and calm) and will become a lot easier over time.
Being Calm And Consistent
It’s really easy to send mixed signals to our dogs which leaves them confused about what’s right or wrong. You should never yell at them in anger. You keeping calm will directly translate into them keeping calm, as well. Your focus also needs to be on rewarding certain behaviors so that they are more likely to repeat them. Setting strict rules inside the house and consistently enforcing them will send a clear message about what is expected of them. If they aren’t allowed on the couch, stick to that! If they can’t enter certain parts of the house, stick to that! The worst thing you can do is let them do it one day and then not the next. They really do prefer not to be confused and will be a lot happier knowing what’s right and what’s wrong.
Being consistent with all of these is often difficult, especially with the busy lives that many of us live. I recommend introducing one thing at a time into your daily routine. Don’t try to fit it in all at once, you’ll feel overwhelmed and you’re likely to give up a lot quicker, which could leave to an overall unhappy dog of yours.
Allison Kingsley is a loving home and pet owner who loves to share her knowledge. She also writes for doggrooming-clippers.com and provides in-depth reviews on clippers like the Oster A5 Turbo’s.
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